Kathua incident shameful: Rajnath
Home minister vows justice to Unnao rape survivor
› What has happened in Kathua is sad. It is shameful. Anyone belonging to any religion, community cannot but condemn the incident. The family must get justice.
RAJNATH SINGH, home minister
NEWDELHI: Terming the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua as “deeply unfortunate and shameful”, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said that there must be justice for the family of the victim. He also said that there will be “justice” in the Unnao case, in which a BJP legislator has been accused of rape.
“What has happened in Kathua is sad. It is shameful. Anyone belonging to any religion, community cannot but condemn the incident. The family must get justice,” Singh said in an interview.
Singh, the highest ranking minister in the Narendra Modi government, is the senior most political figure of the BJP to speak out on the Kathua rape.
His comments come even as leaders of the party in Jammu and Kashmir have been accused of speaking up on behalf of the alleged culprits.
When asked about them, Singh said, “No one, no one, can defend it. No one should politicise an incident of this nature. I have told people in the party to normalise the situation.” Singh, who met Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti earlier this week, discussed Kathua and the subsequent developments with her. He said, “I have spoken to the CM and said that the situation should get normalised.”
When asked about demands that the Prime Minister speak on the issue, Singh said, “We are all talking about it. We are condemning it. There is no need to expect the PM to react on every issue.” On the demand by certain BJP leaders in the state that the probe be handed over to the CBI, Singh said, “The Centre can’t intervene in this. The state government has to decide. It has to recommend (for the CBI probe).”
Singh also said the UP government’s decision to request and hand over the Unnao case to the CBI is “proof” of its intent.
“I don’t think there is any scope for debate on it any more. There is no ambiguity or doubt about the intent of the UP government. They would not have handed it over to the CBI otherwise. The intent is to punish the guilty.”
When asked about the perception that the BJP was defending its MLA and there was a delay in handing it over, Singh said, “The Uttar Pradesh government has set up a committee to see if there was any error.” Singh reiterated that there will be justice in the Unnao rape case.